Keep It Dark!

This song is one of those that makes me laugh. Much of it is because of the Keep It Dark video. Here are the lyrics (courtesy of sing365.com):


Found that man reported missing,
He wandered in his home.
It don't seem to bad if you consider
Just what he's been through.

Seems he met up with a gang of thieves,
Who mistook him for a man of means,
They locked him up then found he had no money,
So they let him go again.
Now he's back at home and happy
Just to see the kids.

I wish that I could really tell you
All the things that happened to me
And all that I have seen.
A world full of people their hearts full of joy,
Cities of light with no fear of war,
And thousands of creatures with happier lives,
And dreams of a future with meaning and no need to hide.

Oh, keep it dark.

It seems strange to have to lie,
About a world so bright.
And tell instead a made-up story,
From the world of night.

I wish, that I could really tell you,
All the things that happened to me
And all that I have seen,
A world full of people their hearts full of joy,
Cities of light with no fear of war,
And thousands of creatures with happier lives,
And dreams of a future with meaning and no need to lie,
No need to hate,
No need to hide.

Oh, keep it dark.


What is this song about? As with any 80's era Genesis tune, I always consider what is going on at this point. First, and I think this is obvious, Phil is writing the lyrics. When you take into context the fact that his divorce occurred in 1980, the same year Abacab was released, this song takes on a different meaning to me. If you read the verses in this mindset, it could become a tale of Collins' unhappiness. Again, when you consider his solo efforts in the 80s, it's pretty obvious things weren't going too great for him at this time. Then when you consider the tone of the song as well, I believe this song is a cry for freedom of sorts...."cities of light with no fear of war"....."it seems so strange to have to lie, about a world so bright".....and etcetera. A very interesting song in the Genesis catalog, as it doesn't wear its emotion on its sleeve like a lot of other Collins' era songs. Interested to hear what others think